By ÁLVARO SERRANO

I just want more. I want more control. I want more speed. I want more simplicity. I want more focus. I want to embed videos. I want real link posts. I want beautiful typography. All of these things were more properly served by a change.

So here we are. A brand new design for The Newsprint.

Whoa. Massive congratulations on a great accomplishment, and a fantastic job. The new design is gorgeous; I’m sure he’s over the moon with it, and with good reason. Having gone through the same process a few months ago — only hacking through all the tedious bits myself — I’m intimately aware of the effort such a redesign takes, as well as the advantages it will bring in terms of increased performance, decreased costs and overall “pride of ownership”.

But beyond all these technicalities, the reason The Newsprint is one of my favorite websites will always be its excellent content. Josh has worked his ass off day in, day out for the past year, and it shows. He’s one of the few people out there that are creating the Internet we all want to read.

The Newsprint is a labor of love. I’m so happy that Josh is doubling down on the site, and we’re all better off for it.

He probably doesn’t know this, but he’s been — and continues to be — a huge inspiration for me, personally and professionally. He’s living proof that what we’re trying to do here is important. That showing up, having something to say — and being brave enough to say it — matters. It may not always translate into more pageviews or RSS subscribers, but it’s always, always worth it.

It’s a lesson I keep reminding myself of day after day, when the insecurities kick in. I’m in this for the long haul, and I’m glad to see he is too.

Happy birthday, Josh. Here’s to another great year, and to many more after that.